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Johnny Compton

Goodreads Author

Website

http://JohnnyCompton.com

Genre

Horror

Member Since

June 2010

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Popular Answered Questions

Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

Johnny Compton No one on Earth can explain how a chunk of the moon went missing overnight, but that isn't the scariest thing. What's scaring everyone most is what ap…moreNo one on Earth can explain how a chunk of the moon went missing overnight, but that isn't the scariest thing. What's scaring everyone most is what appears to be a fang left in one of the lunar seas.(less)

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What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Johnny Compton Read less writing advice; read more writing.

I've seen many questions online that could be answered by reading more of the types of books the aspiring …moreRead less writing advice; read more writing.

I've seen many questions online that could be answered by reading more of the types of books the aspiring author wishes to write. And much of the advice I've seen online, well-intentioned as it is, could be summarized as, "How to write just like me."

Even great pieces of advice by masters of the craft are reduced and filtered online into being useless at best, misleading at worst. For instance, Elmore Leonard's "rules" of writing, which is a fine article (of course, it's written by Elmore Leonard) full of nuance and counterpoints to his own recommendations, which is then robbed of the abundance of its substance in reductive, abbreviated lists, which then get regurgitated by people who never read the original article.

Even having said that, I think reading the books on Elmore Leonard's favorites list (available on his site) is better for the aspiring writer than just reading his article. I'd recommend that approach with anyone you're getting advice from. Instead of just reading what they say to do, read what they've read and enjoyed. Often times their favorite books flagrantly violate the suggestions that they're presenting as laws, and that's okay. You're not reading their books to say, "Gotcha! You said never do X, but your favorite book does X twice in Chapter One alone!"

You're reading the books to get better.

Read less writing advice; read more writing.(less)

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Combine Editions
Johnny Compton’s books

Average rating: 3.48 · 15,870 ratings · 3,249 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Spite House 3.51 avg rating — 13,780 ratings — published 2023 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Devils Kill Devils 3.10 avg rating — 1,605 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks by Tom Deady (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Will Errickson (Goodreads Author) (Introduction), Max Booth III (Goodreads Author) 4.07 avg rating — 712 ratings — published 2024 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead First 3.43 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 2026 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Obsolescence: A Dark Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Anthology by Alan Lastufka (Goodreads Author), Kristina Horner (Goodreads Author), Kealan Patrick Burke (Goodreads Author) 4.23 avg rating — 92 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Midnight Somewhere: A Short-Story Collection 4.16 avg rating — 77 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sneak Peek for The Spite House 3.75 avg rating — 28 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Civilized Monsters: A Collection 3.88 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cosmic Scream: Digital Horror Fiction Anthology (Digital Horror Fiction Short Stories Series One Book 5) by Johnny Compton (Goodreads Author), Sandra M. Odell (Goodreads Author), Joe Powers really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chimera Skin 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Johnny Compton's Blog

The Worlds Between Words – Devil in a Blue Dress

In Walter Mosley's excellent hard-boiled mystery, Devil in a Blue Dress there is a line that struck me like a solid swing of baseball bat to the abdomen. Mosley’s lead, World War II veteran Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, describes the fear that seized him during his introduction to combat.

“The first time I fought a German hand-to-hand I screamed for help the whole time I was killing him.”

As I made it thr Read more of this blog post »

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Published on October 20, 2021 13:15

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Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is...

Johnny is Currently Reading

Johnny Compton is currently reading

Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.

by Jeremy Leven (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 07, 2024 06:20AM

Johnny Compton is currently reading

Mississippi Noir (Akashic Noir)

by Tom Franklin (Goodreads Author)

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Sep 02, 2022 09:08PM

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Johnny Compton is currently reading Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S. by Jeremy Leven (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2024 06:20AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Satan by Jeremy Leven. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Satan by Jeremy Leven <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Johnny Compton (?)

“You can do anything you want, you just have to make it happen.”
― Johnny Compton, The Spite House

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“[ . . . ] books are full of secrets and wonders.”
― Johnny Compton, The Spite House

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“And even a lie can reveal a truth if you find out why someone is telling it.”
― Johnny Compton, The Spite House

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